What is ORP?

What is ORP?

Last week we went over what free radicals are. This week we are going to talk about ORP, which you hear about quite often when talking about alkaline ionized water.

All around us in the air, in all of the material objects, our bodies, water and the earth there is a constant exchange of electrons. This is called ion exchange. (Remember here where we went over what an ion is?)

Everything wants to reach an equilibrium, everything wants that balance. So molecules that are lacking electrons seek out and “steal” electrons from other molecules. These substances on the hunt for electrons are called “oxidizing agents”. Oxidize means: “to remove electrons from an atom or molecule.” So these substances (free radicals) are removing electrons from nearby molecules or atoms.

Substances which have an excess of electrons that they can share without being damaged are called “anti-oxidizing agents”, or “antioxidants”. Aaaahh, I bet you have heard that word touted all over new health foods and supplements.

What Does ORP Stand for?

ORP stands for “oxidation-reduction potential”. It is a measurement of how much a substance can oxidize another substance. The arbitrary scale goes from -400 to +400, with +400 being a highly oxidizing substance and -400 being the highest anti-oxidant level. What you want to look for in your drinking water is a negative ORP in the 300-400 range.

Most tap water and bottled water have positive ORP levels and therefore are oxidizing to the body, meaning they will leach electrons from healthy tissues. Bad, bad news!

Alkaline ionized water on the other hand has an anti-oxidant quality to it, meaning it has an excess of electrons it can share with the free radicals in search of electrons. This then keeps them from taking electrons from your body. Very good news, indeed!

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